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Key takeaways
- Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) is up +44.63% in the past 24 hours, while UST Classic (USTC) is up +248%
- USTC was listed on Binance Futures in a trading pair with USDC which caused a major spike in trading volume for both USTC and LUNC
- The short-term outlook for LUNC is that a retrace back to moving averages could be likely, while the cryptocurrency may seek to target its 2023 highs on longer time frames
USTC listed on Binance Futures in a pair with USDC, Terra ecosystem enjoys massive surge in the past 24 hours
Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) is currently +44.63% up in the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency surged more than +60% in total from yesterday’s low of $0.00007971 to today’s high of $0.000128, before retracing slightly in recent hours to its current price of $0.000118.
The surge from LUNC was sharp, driven by a new Binance Futures listing for UST Classic (USTC) — the algorithmic stablecoin that lost its dollar peg during the infamous LUNA crash of May 2022. The Terra Luna ecosystem suffered a bank run which de-pegged UST from the US dollar, causing hyper-inflation of LUNA due to the network’s mint/burn algorithm.
After LUNA and UST each lost more than -99% of their value, developers within the Luna Classic community have been actively trying to recover some of the value that was lost. Today’s Binance Futures listing has helped to close the gap with a near-instant move, providing near-term buy pressure as traders flock to the market to make the most of a spike in volume.
While LUNC rose +60%, USTC soared +473% in total from its low on 25th November in a move that includes a +248% price increase in the past 24 hours. The spike in trading volume can be clearly seen on Binance’s LUNC/USDT Perpetual Futures chart.
The surge for LUNC was driven by a spike in trading volume following a new Binance Futures listing for USTC
LUNC price prediction: Can the recent surge be sustained?
Sharp rises to volatility are often followed by a short-term retracement as day traders seek to make a quick profit from an overextended candle. LUNC is currently way above its EMAs and has fallen back below its June high of $0.00011498, which became a key resistance level after it was lost as support in April 2023.
At the time of writing, LUNC is +58% above the 99 EMA and +57% above the 55 EMA on the daily timeframe. This shows a major extension on this time frame. However, this does not necessarily mean that LUNC will retrace.
The major move for LUNC coincided with a spike in trading volume. The new Binance Futures listing for USTC could reignite interest in the ecosystem from traders and investors alike, and the community’s recent efforts to inject some deflationary pressure into the ecosystem could further help LUNC to sustain its price movements.
Unless LUNC can break above its June high in the coming hours, then a retracement back to the $0.00009 — $0.0001 range is likely. This range marks the midway point from today’s impulsive wave and would take LUNC back to parity with its moving averages.
On the daily timeframe, LUNC may seek to re-test today’s high and may even climb a further +100% as it seeks to close the gap with its 2023 high of $0.00021156, but there are several areas of interest that need to be broken through before LUNC reaches this level.
LUNC daily price chart showing key support/resistance levels back towards 2023’s high
Bottom line: LUNC price spike could be sustainable on longer time frames as crypto markets enter fresh bullish period
The wider crypto markets have enjoyed a purple patch in 2023 with the total crypto market cap (TCAP) climbing +81.73% YTD and +12.10% in the past month alone. The new Binance Futures listing for USTC could provide a permanent boost to daily trading volume for Terra Luna Classic derivatives, while the project’s core user base has also been implementing new deflationary measures in the ecosystem since the LUNA crash of May 2022.
If the recent spike in trading volume is sustained, then LUNC could certainly push beyond key resistance levels on its way back to 2023’s high. However, a short-term retrace is a real possibility at the time of writing as LUNC has already lost a key level of support following today’s move, showing relative weakness at the range high due to a major overextension from the moving averages.
Regardless, there seems to be some upside potential left in LUNC over the mid-to-long term and this should not be overlooked. LUNC remains some way off its recent high and there have now been 78.46 billion LUNC tokens burned since the deflationary initiatives kicked off. With recent developments, LUNC may have enough impetus to keep moving up to the range high.